Commuters buying express bus tickets at Larkin Sentral terminal.
MALAYSIANS heading back to their hometowns to celebrate Chinese New Year (CNY) started buying express bus tickets as early as November last year.
Johor Baru Bus Operators Association Datuk Dr Suchdav Jatistrop said the most popular destinations were Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Butterworth, George Town and Alor Setar.
“The majority of those heading back home to these places are locals working in Singapore,” he said when contacted.
Suchdav said ticket sales for the Chinese New Year period were likely to pick up this week.
He said people could already start planning their trip home as their application for leave would have been approved.
“Three days leading to the celebration will be the busiest times as people would be heading home,” he added.
Suchdav also commented on a recent incident where a woman claimed to have been left behind by an express bus driver at an Ayer Keroh petrol station in Melaka.
He said it was necessary to get both sides of the story.
“It is very rare for passengers to be left behind by their bus driver during a toilet stop, which normally takes between 15 and 20 minutes,” he said.
In a social media post which went viral, the passenger claimed she was left stranded at the petrol station at around midnight while travelling from Johor to Perak.
She had tried to call the bus driver using a lorry driver’s mobile phone and claimed her “efforts were ignored”.
However, the passenger later caught up with the bus driver in Senawang with the help of workers at the petrol station and the same lorry driver.
She got on the bus and resumed her journey.
Suchdav said during peak hours, bus drivers sometimes had trouble finding parking spots and passengers might have to walk some distance to get to the toilets.
“Normally, our drivers will not leave before making a headcount,’’ he added.
He advised those getting to Kuala Lumpur International Airport by express bus from Johor Baru to make sure they arrive early.
“It is better to be early than late to the airport and we cannot do anything if there are major accidents along the highway,” said Suchdav.
